GCT Vienna Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle: Victory for Viva Gold and Isabell Werth Under the Floodlights; Moritz Treffinger Sets a Personal Best; Katharina Hemmer Makes Her Debut with a Score of 76 Percent

How do you refine pure gold? With a diamond! Neil Diamond’s global hits—from “Song, Song Blue” to “Forever in Blue Jeans” and, of course, “Sweet Caroline” (whose iconic chorus line “oh, oh, ooooh”—which Isabell Werth emphatically urged the audience to sing along to after the freestyle routine) are a perfect match for the piaffe and passage skills of the Oldenburg horse Viva Gold. That the son of Vivaldi can also “shine under the floodlights” was proven today, if not before, against the backdrop of Schönbrunn Palace. Technically flawless, he performed piaffes and passages with the same ease and, above all, the same natural confidence that his grandmother Weihegold once displayed.

The pair received a score of 86.56 percent for their freestyle routine, during which the stallion showed brief moments of tension here and there but always regained his concentration immediately afterward. For example, Isabell Werth was able to clearly highlight the variations in tempo in the walk despite the atmosphere in front of the packed stands. The difficult transition from the canter pirouette to the piaffe was also successful. The extended trots could have used more elasticity and engagement of the back.

The Boy from Baden-Württemberg and Brandenburg and the Backstreet Boys

Yesterday was Cadeau Noir, the gray stallion, who Moritz Treffinger who owes his success, among other things, to gold medals from the U25 European Championships, couldn’t be persuaded to stand still during the salute. The solution? Turn on the music! To the sounds of the Backstreet Boys (“Everybody…”), the Hanoverian stallion from the Bonhomme Stud in Brandenburg stood still. He did so both at the beginning and at the end of the freestyle. Many highlights, especially in the canter, sent the B-scores soaring from 78 to 89 percent. With a score of 76.63 percent, the two Bonhomme boys were just under ten percent behind the winner, but they achieved their personal best in a “Senior Grand Prix Freestyle.”

Katha Hemmer is banking on the “aha” moment

When Norwegian singer Morten Harket let his falsetto ring out in “Take on Me” in the 1980s, many girls and young women struggled to keep from fainting. Why not use this heartthrob for a free skate routine? That was likely the strategy behind World Team Champion Katharina Hemmer’s choice of music. To classics like “The Sun Always Shines on TV” or the sappy ballad “Hunting High and Low” (set to the rhythm), Hemmer presented Special Gold PCH, by San Amour, as significantly more mature—just as she had at Friday’s Grand Prix.

Lessons Are Coming

Together

The lessons

are coming together

—21 changes on two half-diagonals speak for themselves. What the black horse, a direct son of Weihegold, still needs: strength. In a few canter pirouettes, he was on the verge of losing the clear canter extension in his hind leg. However, this improved as the test progressed. “Katha” sometimes initiated the passage and piaffe with a slightly more pronounced forward impulsion, which enhanced the overall harmonious impression.

One more “aha” moment just before the end

A clever choreographic idea at the end: On the final center line, a transition from (straight) two-step changes to single-step changes until just before the final bow. With a score of 76.08 percent in the very first Grand Prix free skate of 2025—while still in fourth place in the Louisdor Prize final—Katharina Hemmer makes a strong statement. A big one, at that, because it was obvious that there’s still plenty of room for improvement here. With increasing strength and experience, the ten-year-old Special Gold should have everything it takes to systematically work his way up the rankings in the ring, riding in Denoix’s slipstream.

Lisa Müller placed fifth with D’Avie (72.795). The two were the first pair to enter the arena in Vienna.

Results of the Grand Prix Freestyle, GCT Vienna 2026